BLOCK 4

LOCAL GOVERNANCE
 172 blank

172
UNIT 13 DECENTRALISATION AND LOCAL
GOVERNANCE*
Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Concept of Decentralisation
13.3 Importance of Decentralisation
13.4 Dimensions of Decentralisation and Local Governance
13.5 Decentralisation Pattern in India: Historical Background
13.6 Features of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992
13.7 Functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions: An Appraisal
13.8 Assessment of the Functioning of Urban Local Bodies
13.9 Conclusion
13.10 Glossary
13.11 References
13.12 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

13.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
• Explain the concept of decentralisation;
• Discuss the importance of decentralisation;
• Analyse the dimensions of decentralisation;
• Explain the decentralisation pattern in India both rural and urban; and
• Appraise the functioning of rural and urban local bodies in India.

13.1 INTRODUCTION
There has been a wave of efforts globally to reform the State especially since late
eighties and early nineties. The basic idea behind this was to bring the private players
and the market forces in the governance process along with the State thereby lessening
its burden as also making it more effective and accountable. Decentralisation is one
such reform effort which was globally advocated. Accordingly, many countries
decentralised State powers to the sub- national governments and shifted some of its
powers to the periphery. India was no exception to this.
Decentralisation has become one of the most politically correct ideals for better
governance in today’s time. It is seen as the means by which the locus of power shifts
* Contributed by Dr. Sweta Mishra, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science,
Gargi College, University of Delhi 173
Local from the inefficient, corrupt and rent-seeking central governments to more accountable,
Governance responsive and transparent local governments. It encourages greater political
participation and increases the responsiveness of the government institutions ultimately
improving the planning and implementation of the development schemes and programmes.
In developing countries such as India, it is seen as a progressive strategy to promote
development by identifying the needs and preferences of the people through their direct
participation in governance especially at grassroots level.
Local governance through decentralised institutions is said to foster participation,
transparency, effective implementation of plans and programmes at grass roots level,
harnessing the available human resources besides empowering the marginalised sections
of the society.
In this Unit, we shall discuss the concept of decentralisation, its importance and
dimensions, pattern of panchayati raj and urban local bodies and appraise their
functioning.

13.2 CONCEPT OF DECENTRALISATION

We must be very clear about the meaning of decentralisation if we have to grapple with
its issues and concerns. Decentralisation has emerged as a prominent issue in the literature
of public administration and is regarded as one of the most important politico-
administrative innovations of this century. It has been and continues to be advocated as
an important component of policy packages to improve governance in developing
countries, especially in the context of disillusionment, which has set in on account of
central planning. The centralist regimes find themselves overburdened with complex
and widespread socio-economic problems for which they have no answers, as the
governments have sought to create more socially equitable patterns of economic growth
to meet the basic needs of the poor. In case of India, efforts in this direction have been
made since independence. There have been strong voices in favour of decentralisation
and to have a third tier of governance where local decisions will be taken by the people.
The term decentralisation is understood differently by different individuals or groups. It
is essentially a mechanism through which power is transferred from the central government
to the lower levels of government or field organisations. Decentralisation means dispersal
of authority among a number of individuals or units. Decentralisation is not only a device
for the delegation or dispersal of administrative authority, but it is also a democratic
method of devolution of authority.
Decentralisation refers to the physical location of facilities and the extent of dispersal of
authority throughout an organisation. Hence, it is an arrangement by which the ultimate
authority to command and the ultimate responsibility for results is localised in units
located in different parts of the country. It is argued that assigning of functions and
responsibilities, for their efficient and effective performance, to the decentralised lower
levels where they are allowed to decide many matters and a few cases involving major
policies or interpretations are referred to the higher levels of the organisation is yielding
results.
The concept of decentralisation, as it applies to India, presents a different approach to
the decentralisation of political and administrative powers. It was apparently intended
to conform to be the model of democratic decentralisation in which powers and funds
are transferred from higher-level institutions to elected bodies at the local level (Jayal,
2007). Having its mixed goals of democracy, decentralisation and development, it implies
devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities, decentralisation of political
174
institutions, development of local leadership and strengthening the efforts for economic Decentralisation
modernisation. It is the process whereby the government divests itself completely of and Local
Governance
certain duties and responsibilities and devolves them on some other authority (Mishra,
1989).
To be precise, decentralisation is an ideological principle associated with objectives of
self-reliance, democratic decision making, popular participation in government, and
accountability of public officials to citizens. It is a prime mechanism through which
democracy becomes truly representative and responsive (Arora and Goyal, 1995).
Decentralisation is a political decision, and its implementation, a reflection of a country’s
political process. It is dispersal of authority among the lower levels of organisation and
its field offices. It, thus, creates a sense of responsibility in local decision making agencies
with more or less independent existence and powers. It is sharing the decision-making
authority with lower levels in organisations, thereby improving their efficiency,
effectiveness and responsiveness (Chakrabarty and Chand, 2012).

13.3 IMPORTANCE OF DECENTRALISATION

Decentralisation has been looked at as a singularly useful mode of administration to
deliver the public services from convenient local centres close to the clients’ locality and
thus more responsive to local needs. The developing world has undergone some form
of decentralised governance in line to meet peoples’ demands (Islam, 2007). Bringing
administration to the doorsteps of the citizens and establishing a direct relationship
between the citizens and the administration has been the driving force behind
decentralisation in most of the developing countries.
The urge for decentralisation has come from many sources. Firstly, it has been prompted
by the need to deliver the basic public goods such as food, housing and water from
local units of administration. Secondly, most people in the developing countries live in
rural areas, which are away from the national capital located in distant urban areas.
Administration has to penetrate the rural areas and link these up with the nation as a
whole. Thirdly, in many countries sociological diversities manifest themselves in ethnic,
linguistic and religious differences. Administration needs to be decentralised in response
to regional diversities.
Fourthly, regional and local resources can be utilised for the area development purposes,
only if administration would move out to the regions and localities. Decentralisation,
therefore, facilitates local planning and development with the help of local responses
leading to better development outcomes. Fifthly, decentralisation has its own value in
political and administrative terms. Politically, local participation in development activities,
with intensive response paves the way for meaningful articulation of local demands.
Planning thus becomes much more realistic and receives ready political support. From
the administrative point of view, local capability to govern local areas increases through
sustained participation in local decision making. Decentralisation is expected to release
local energies and enlist local support for development activities. In the process, the
local community can steadily attain political and administrative maturity. Finally, it is
needed to institutionalise participation of citizens in development planning by creating
alternative means of decision making.
In the words of Rajni Kothari (1988) “decentralisation is an alternative system of
governance based on a people-centred approach to sorting out local level problems. In
the entire process, people are located at the centre of power so that they become the
basic engine of the development process and not, as hitherto, merely its beneficiaries”
175
Local
Governance 13.4 DIMENSIONS OF DECENTRALISATION AND
LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Decentralisation, as we have seen, is an important component of policies to improve
governance in the developing countries and is often regarded as a necessary precondition
for socio-economic and political decentralisation. In this context, different dimensions
of decentralisation can be identified, viz., administrative, political, functional and fiscal.
These dimensions reflect, in general terms, increasing and often sequential stages of
progress in achieving the objectives of decentralisation (Jain, 2003). Let us now study
these dimensions of decentralisation.
 Political Decentralisation
Political decentralisation refers to transfer of political powers and functions from the
central levels of government to the lower levels of governments which are elected by
the local citizens and which have some degree of local autonomy. It means that the
powers and functions, which are concentrated in the hands of the higher level political
organs be decentralised to the lower level political organs that have been democratically
elected by their constituencies (Mishra and Sweta, 2006).In other words, it means
devolution of powers and functions to the local bodies i.e., panchayats and municipalities.
In India, the process of political decentralisation which started in 1959, on the
recommendations of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, finally got implemented in 1993,
by way of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts. As a result, now there are
governments at five levels viz., central, state, district, block and village, making the
governance process more representative with locally elected representatives paving,
the way for greater peoples’ participation.
 Administrative Decentralisation
Administrative decentralisation refers to the transferring of authority, resources and
responsibilities to the lower officials in the administrative hierarchy of organisations. It
may also mean decentralising powers or functions to the subordinate units. It involves
placing planning and implementation responsibilities to functionaries and elected
members. It aims at providing better facilities and services to the people through the
local authorities.
In India, though the development process started way back in 1950 after the setting up
of erstwhile Planning Commission, yet we could not achieve the developmental goals.
The main reason for this was that the welfare policies and programmes, which were
meant for the people top-down and the local people could not get any benefits of these
policies and programmes, as the local perspective was missing. Administrative
decentralisation makes local governance bottom up and responsive.
 Functional Decentralisation
Functional decentralisation refers to transferring subject specific functions to local tiers
in order to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in an effective and efficient
manner. It means that the sphere of activity of each tier should be clearly specified, and
each tier should be allowed to function independently. Functional decentralisation is an
essential condition to strengthen the units of participatory development and decentralised
governance.
In India, there was absence of clear cut functional jurisdiction so far as the local tiers
were concerned. With the passing of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts,
176 1993, the issue of functional decentralisation has been taken care of. However, still
there is no clarity with regard to the functional jurisdiction of each local tier. In many Decentralisation
states, the functions are delegated through executive orders rather than transferred and Local
Governance
through a piece of legislation (Mishra, 2006, op.cit.).
 Financial Decentralisation
It involves devolving powers with regard to taxation, funds and expenditure upon local
bodies in order to first improve the financial position and then giving them the financial
autonomy for planning and implementation as per the local needs. Devolution of funds
upon the local bodies by the State is important in order to augment financial capacity of
the local bodies. In order to provide the local bodies’ scope to prepare plans as per
local needs, and then to incur expenditure, financial decentralisation becomes important.
The local bodies in India could not function properly because of lack of funds. They
had to depend on the devolutions and the grants-in-aid from the state governments.
This problem has also been taken care of to some extent after the passing of 73rd and
74th Constitutional Amendment Acts. The Acts empower the local bodies to levy and
collect the taxes.
Thus, we see that the various dimensions of decentralisation got operationalised only
after the passing of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, in order to improve
local governance.

13.5 DECENTRALISATION PATTERN IN INDIA:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Decentralisation and local governance has been a major concern in India since long. It
goes back to Lord Mayo’s Resolution of 1870, which advocated decentralisation and
made arrangements for strengthening the municipal institutions and involving more and
more Indians in these bodies. Lord Ripon’s Resolution of 1882 too strongly advocated
the cause of decentralisation of administration through the establishment of local self-
governing institutions. The British administration was not prepared to accept the Ripon
thesis as they questioned the competence of Indians to manage local administration and
feared a general weakening of field administration under a local self-government regime.
The Resolution of 1882 was hailed as the Magna Carta of local government.
The Decentralisation Commission Report, 1909 and the Government of India Acts
1919 and 1935 also favoured local governance. The Government of India Act 1919
introduced ‘Dyarchy’ in the provinces and local self-government became a transferred
subject under the charge of a popular minister of the provincial legislature. The Act
increased the taxation powers of the local bodies, lowered the franchise, reduced the
nominated element and extended the communal electorate to a large number of
municipalities. After the Act of 1919, panchayats became legal entities, losing their
traditional prerogative powers. The Act of 1935 for the first time introduced a federal
form of government and conferred ‘Provincial Autonomy’ on the provinces and
envisaged self-government for the country as a whole.
The second phase of the debate in post-Independence India was staged on the floor of
the Constituent Assembly. Panchayati Raj was an important component of Mahatma
Gandhi’s vision of future India in which economic and political powers would be
decentralised and each village would be self-reliant economically. It was in deference
to the wishes of the Mahatma Gandhi that Article 40 of the Constitution of India was
adopted, stipulating that “the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and
endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to
function as units of self-governments”. The Article only talked about creation of 177
Local panchayats and was silent on the creation of urban bodies. The only reference to urban
Governance self-government was made in two entries viz., Entry 5 of List 11 of the Seventh Schedule
and Entry 20 of the Concurrent List.
In India, after independence, the first attempt in the direction of rural local governance
was the inauguration of Community Development Programme in 1952, followed by
National Extension Scheme in 1953. Both these programmes could not deliver goods.
As a result, the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was constituted to enquire into the
questions of economy and efficiency and suggest other measures for the re-organisation
of Community Development Programme. The Committee came out with the suggestion
of a three tier system of rural local government. This pattern was Zila Parishad at the
district level, Panchayat Samiti at the Block/tehsil/taluka level and Gram Panchayat at
the village level. Following the recommendations of the committee, the first Panchayati
Raj Institution (PRI) was formed in Nagaur district in Rajasthan on 2ndOctober, 1959.
The movement gathered momentum all over the country. By the end of 1963, most of
the states had enacted legislation to introduce Panchayati Raj within their jurisdiction.
However, after initial enthusiasm and promising start, the Panchayati Raj institutions
began to deteriorate rapidly and could not function as institutions of local governance.
In 1977, another Committee, popularly known as the Asoka Mehta Committee was
appointed by the then Janata Government and was entrusted with inquiring into the
functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions and suggest measures to revitalise them. The
Committee outlined the reasons for the decline of PRIs, such as haphazard programmes,
non-performance, rise of vested interests (Sugar lobby being an example in Maharashtra),
lack of adequate financial resources, etc. The concept of Panchayati Raj itself got lost
in a haze of conflicting interpretations (Mishra, 1981). The Committee recommended a
two-tier system of PRI with Zila Parishad at the district level and Mandal Panchayat at
the base level. The Karnataka government took the recommendations of the Committee
seriously and adopted a new system of Panchayati Raj in 1985. West Bengal and
Andhra Pradesh followed suit.
After the publication of Asoka Mehta Committee Report and its experimentation in
states of Karnataka, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, hectic activities at the central
level started towards strengthening grass roots democratic organisations and achieving
the goals of real democratic decentralisation. Some of the Committees set up by the
Central Government are Committee on Administrative Arrangements for Rural
Development (CAARD) 1985, L.M. Singhvi Committee for the Concept Paper on
Panchayati Raj Institutions, 1986, Sarkaria Commission 1988, P.K. Thungon Committee
1988, etc.
The net result of the recommendations of these committees and commissions was that
a proper environment was created in favour of giving new thrust to the concept of
democratic decentralisation. All political parties by and large arrived at the conclusion
that it was high time to give Constitutional status to PRI’s and Municipalities. The result
of such consensus was the introduction of 64thand 65thConstitutional Amendment Bills
in July, 1989 in the Parliament. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. However, it
failed in Rajya Sabha due to serious apprehensions regarding the timing and the intention
of the Bill and could not become the part of the Constitution. After the defeat of the
64thand 65th Amendment Bills, the National Front Government introduced in the Lok
Sabha on 4th September 1990 the74th and 75thConstitutional Amendment Bills 1990.
However, this Bill died an unnatural death, when the Janata Dal Government collapsed
before passing the Bill.

178 In June 1991, the government introduced two new amendment bills in the Parliament
and on December 22, 1992, the Bills were passed by the Parliament and are now Decentralisation
known as the Constitution (73rdand 74thAmendment) Acts 1992. By April 23, 1994, and Local
Governance
all the states had completed the process of enacting fresh legislation on strengthening
the PRIs and municipalities.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1) Discuss the importance of decentralisation.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Explain the various components of decentralisation.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

13.6 FEATURES OF 73rdAND 74th

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACTS, 1992
The Constitution of India defines Panchayats as institutions of local self-government in
rural India. The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992 have Constitutionalised the
Panchayats and Municipalities and is a step in the direction of speeding up the process
of decentralisation and giving strength as well as stability to local institutions. They are
historic in nature as they have got the potential to transform the existing character of our
democracy (Palanithurai, 2009). Some of the features of the Acts are as follows:
 It has made mandatory for all the states to set up three tier (in smaller states
having less than 20 lakh population – two tier) bodies both in the rural and the
urban areas.
 Periodic elections to all the tiers at regular interval of five years and, if dissolved
earlier, fresh elections to be held within six months.
 Reservation of seats for SCs and STs in all the panchayats and municipalties at all
the levels in proportion to their population.
 One third reservation of seats for woman in panchayats and municipalities.
 All posts at all levels (with two exceptions) to be filled by direct elections.
 Indirect elections to the post of chairman at the intermediate and apex tiers.
179
Local  Creation of a State Election Commission to conduct elections to PRIs and municipal
Governance bodies.
 A State Finance Commission to be set up in each state every five years in order to
review the financial position of the PRIs and municipal bodies.
 Devolution of powers to the panchayat bodies to perform 29 functions and to the
municipal bodies to perform 18 functions as suggested in the Eleventh and Twelfth
Schedules respectively.
 Organisation of gram sabhas and ward committees.
 The 74thConstitutional Amendment provides for constitution of District Planning
Committee (DPC) and Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) to prepare a
development plan.
Article 243M of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment exempts application of this Act to
certain areas in the country. These areas are Fifth Schedule Areas, Sixth Schedule
Areas, 1996 (PESA) and other tribal areas.
The tribal communities are the marginalised sections who have been for long isolated
from the main stream development process. At the same time their customs and traditions
are to be protected and remain uninterrupted. Their indigenous traditional institutions
which play an important role are to be maintained. In order the strengthen the grass
roots democracy in tribal areas, the Part IX of the Constitution which deals with
panchayats has been specially extended through an Act of Parliament called Panchayats
Extension to Scheduled V, Areas Act (PESA)1996.This provides for certain exclusive
and wide ranging powers to gram sabhas and panchayats in these areas.

13.7 FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

INSTITUTONS: AN APPRAISAL
Mere legislative enactments do not ensure effectiveness and viability of the PRIs in the
states. What is important is their operationalisation. Even after more than two decades
of passage of the 73rd Amendment Act, their functioning reveals the fact that at the
operational level, there are large variations among the states.
Gram Sabha is the basic unit of Indian democracy. According to Article 243A of the
Indian Constitution “ A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such
functions at the village level as the legislature of a state may by law provide.” The
elected representatives are made accountable to the electorate through the Gram
Sabhas. Hence they have to be vigilant and sensitive to their own problems and only
then the PRIs can be successful. At the same time, it has to meet periodically with
maximum participation of the people. Initially, this was not happening and the benefits
did not reach the needy. However, in some states the Gram Sabhas started meeting on
a more regular basis and the benefits of the rural development programmes started
reaching the common man (Sharma, 2007).
At the same time in some cases, increased participation of the local community is also
being witnessed. In the state of Kerala, where the first Gram Sabha was organised way
back in 1996, more than two million persons participated in it. In general, the gram
sabhas were a huge success and generated public debate on development all over
Kerala (ibid.) In Madhya Pradesh, the gram sabhas got a new status through a state
law to ensure holistic development of villages. In West Bengal absolute power has been
given to the Gram Sansad/Gram Sabha in respect of selection of beneficiaries under the
180 poverty alleviation programmes (Mathew, 2007).
The Eleventh Schedule, which assigns 29 subjects to the PRI’s have been added in the Decentralisation
body of the Constitution. It was expected that, the State Legislature, by law, would and Local
Governance
endow such powers and authority to panchayats so that they could function as institutions
of self-government. But the powers and functions were not actually transferred to the
PRIs in the true sense of the term, as no detailed executive instructions regarding
devolution were issued.
The sphere of activity of each tier under each item has not been defined and is left to the
discretion of the concerned state governments. As a result there exists variation from
state to state with regard to assigning of powers and functions to each tier of PRI. In the
state of Karnataka, for example, the state government has retained many regulatory,
controlling, and supervisory powers, which in fact takes away the autonomy of the
PRIs (Aziz, 2007). The experience gained so far is that, at the district level, various
departments/agencies implement programmes and function under the overall supervision
and control of the District Collector. The PRIs, therefore, have to be content with
backseat driving (Vittal, 1998).
Under governmental direction, each level is now conducting ‘activity mapping’. The
activity mapping now being undertaken by states is being done in the expectation that it
will clearly identify the functions that are to be performed at each level of the panchayats.
This will help in assessing the revenues required, and assigning its sources. In addition it
will help in the devolution of functions to implement these activities (Mathur, 2013).
The functioning of the PRIs with regard to the mandatory provision for reservation of
seats for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and one third
reservation for women (including women from the SCs and the STs) reveals that in
spite of the reservation for the above category, the problem has not been completely
solved. In most states, democratic decentralisation has made politics more inclusive of
women, SCs and STs, but has done far less to empower them (Jayal, 2006).
Initially by and large, only those individuals were elected from reserved constituencies,
who had the patronage of the dominant sections of the society and who functioned like
the mouth piece of the affluent sections in the formal meetings of the PRIs. Women
members acted on behalf of the male members of their family. But slowly this scenario
started changing and today the situation is much better. Today, the democratic base of
women has been widened. Indeed, around 80 per cent of all women elected are from
reserved seats. It has also motivated many women to contest elections and participate
in the political process (Mathur, 2013). Women members have performed well in states
like Kerala, West Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. They have taken up many
serious issues, relating to the development of their areas. They have fought against odds
and taken up issues, which cater to the vital needs like children’s education, safe drinking
water, primary health care facilities for women, nutrition, etc.
For example, a woman Sarpanch of Chandsamand Gram Panchayat in Karnal district
of Haryana has developed a three pond system under MGNREGA with the purpose to
treat the grey water and further use the same for gardening, kitchen gardening and
irrigation purposes. Similarly, another Woman Gram Pradhan of Namkhana Gram
Panchayat in West Bengal has ensured functional standing committees on women and
children. She has emphasised on self-help group formation .joyful learning and nutritious
food for the children (Sinha, 2018).
According to Pattanaik (2010), “it is clear that women’s leadership in panchayats is
transforming India. These elected women – now role models to the other women in
their communities – are altering the development agenda to address issues critical to
181
village life. The success stories number in millions. Women throughout India- from Orissa
Local to Assam to Uttar Pradesh to Bihar— are ensuring that roads are repaired, electricity is
Governance brought to their villages, schools are built, medical services are available, water resources
are made safe, local savings groups are formed , and the list goes on and on”.
Another important issue in the functioning of panchayats is the finance. Though many
provisions have been made in the Act with regard to improving the financial status of the
panchayats, still the financial autonomy of the PRIs is restricted. Only in the state of
Kerala there is large degree of autonomy as 40 per cent of funds under general sector
were in untied form. States like Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
provide substantial funds to zila parishad, but even they do not give much scope to
PRIs in terms of autonomy, as funds are invariably tied to a particular programme or
scheme (Mishra, 2006, op.cit.).
PRIs do not have the incentives to raise revenues. The major proportion of the transfers
is scheme-based. They have to depend on the devolutions and the grants- in- aid from
the state governments. Besides, most of the states have not transferred funds for the
subjects transferred to the PRIs. Decentralisation without strong resource base is
therefore likely to have pitfalls if not accompanied by enhanced financial capabilities.
Though the fiscal capabilities of the PRIs and Nagar Palikas are expected to improve
in the wake of Finance Commission exercise, what is important is a strong fiscal base
accruing from sources internal to them. Moreover, many taxation powers and other
financial provisions like auctioning the gram panchayat financially beneficial properties
like fisheries, ponds, pastures, and others will ultimately improve the financial position
of PRIs (Mishra, 2005).
The Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) recommended substantial increase in the
quantum of resources allocated to the rural and urban local bodies. This is nearly more
than three times the allocation provided to the panchayats by the Thirteenth Finance
Commission.
The PRIs and municipal bodies should be encouraged to take steps for innovative
resource mobilisation such as generation of income from entrepreneurial activities,
productive loans, public contribution, tax sharing and tax assignments, matching grant
incentives for tax collection instead of totally depending on the governmental grants.
Besides, proper tax collection machinery at panchayat/municipal level is required. PRIs/
urban local bodies should get a share of more elastic and productive taxes like sales
tax. They may be assigned all or part of sales tax proceeds of the area within their
purview.
Another important aspect observed in the functioning of the PRIs is the problem of
coordination among the three levels of PRIs on the one hand; and bureaucracy and
NGOs on the other. This is giving rise to:
 Ambiguities related to the distribution of powers and functions amongst the three
tiers of PRIs mentioned in the Eleventh Schedule.
 Lack of clarity on the role of PRIs as planning and implementing agencies.
 Absence of understanding with regard to the relationship between the PRIs and
local level bureaucracy.
 Problem of open competition between the PRIs and NGOs. These factors
aggravate the complexities of coordination and raise doubts with regard to the
usefulness of PRIs (Mishra, 2003).

182
There are measures being taken to improve the functioning of PRIs. These include: Decentralisation
and Local
• Evolving a participatory culture and strengthening coordination between Governance
PRIs and other bodies functioning at grass roots level.
To sort out the problem of coordination, what is required is to weave and develop
a new and responsible participatory culture at the local level. Besides, there should
be necessary amendment in the panchayati raj and municipal acts of various states,
which is possible only if there is a strong political and administrative will. PRIs and
urban local bodies need to be made responsible both, for planning and for
implementation of development programmes for the local community, and their
capabilities in this regard need to be enhanced.
• Innovative measures to improve the functioning of PRIS.
Many states are experimenting with innovative measures towards improving PRIs.
To maintain transparency in the implementation of rural development schemes in
the state, the Assam government has ordered the constitution of vigilance and
monitoring committees in each block (ibid.). Democratic decentralisation, could
truly give voice to the people, but it requires enhancing participation, especially by
the people who are often marginalised, and increasing the accountability of public
officials at local levels (Panchayati Raj Update, August 2002).The need is to
appreciate the importance of making people aware and of educating them through
well-organised educational programmes. In a way, people’s participation needs
to be internalised by the PRIs. On the whole, the functioning of PRIs in various
states during the last two decades presents a mixed picture. It has provided an
element of continuity and enlarged the participatory process at the grassroots
level. The periodic shuffling and reshuffling of leadership by way of regular elections,
and increase in the level of politicisation of local community will certainly ensure
the success of the PRIs in the foreseeable future.
• Strengthening the Financial Base of PRIs
The devolution of financial resources is another area that is getting attention. As discussed
earlier in this Unit, the FFC has provided for a substantial increase in the quantum of
resources to PRIs. Also funds are directly been given to gram panchayats to deliver the
basic services. The FFC has recommended giving two types of grants to PRIs. These
are basic and performance grants.
• Capacity Building
The capacity building of elected representatives is being done through several
programmes. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) through various schemes such
as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY), Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA),
Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan (PMEYSA) and so on are attempting to
bring in mechanisms to build their capacities and empower them. The State Institutes of
Rural Development in many states are entrusted with the task of conducting suitable
training programmes to enhance their leadership skills. In addition NGOs are also
providing extensive training to PRI functionaries.
• Coordination between PRIs and other Institutions at Grassroots Level
There are efforts being made for networking between PRIs and other NGOs, self-help
groups, voluntary organisations for effective local governance. For example in Kerala,
self-help groups promoted by Kudumbashree are working with the elected
representatives. In states like Maharashtra, Assam, Rajasthan this convergence between
PRIs, self-help groups and community based organisations is taking place, facilitating
the monitoring of schemes and programmes of gram panchayat. 183
Local
Governance 13.8 ASSESSMENT OF THE FUNCTIONING OF
THE URBAN LOCAL BODIES
So far as the functioning of urban local bodies is concerned, it presents a similar picture
as that of the rural local bodies. There is lack of uniformity with regard to the functioning
of the urban local bodies (ULBs). No doubt, the 74th Amendment Act has revived
them, but the actual situation is that they still face a number of problems.
With regard to functional devolution, we see that there is absence of clear-cut functional
jurisdiction. The 18 subjects, as mentioned in the twelfth schedule, on which the urban
local bodies are to make laws have not been devolved uniformly. States like Himachal
Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on an average have devolved sixteen
functions to ULBs out of 18 listed in the Twelfth Schedule, but some key functions such
as roads, regulation of slaughterhouses, water supply and sewerage and urban planning
including town planning are yet to be devolved to ULBs.
It is also worth noting that though the sixteen functions are devolved to ULBs but little
of this is actually in the hands of municipalities, as the core decision making power rests
with the state government or district administration. At the same time, overlapping of
functions between various departments is also a reality (Occasional Paper Series.No.4,
2008).
In many states, the functions are delegated through executive orders rather than
transferred through a piece of legislation so that, it is apprehended, they can be withdrawn
easily. Some of the states have transferred their schemes of local nature along with
funds and functionaries. They have adopted a pragmatic approach of giving supervisory
and controlling power to local bodies while retaining the power of appointment/dismissal
and promotion/demotion with them. Kerala has shared its plan budget with its local
bodies to the extent of 40 per cent (Chaubey, 2004).
The devolution of funds upon municipalities by the state is important in order to augment
the financial capacity of the municipalities. The functioning of ULBs reveals a different
picture. The ULBs still have to depend on grants from state and central governments.
The municipalities on their own are not able to raise sufficient resources to be able to
cover their costs, and are therefore increasingly dependent on state transfers for financial
sustenance. The octroi or in lieu /octroi compensation are the major untied grants which
all municipalities get from the state government. However, it is also not completely
untied. A portion of the grant is tied – to be used by ULBs only for meeting establishment
/ administration expenditure, while the remaining amount can be used for other purposes.
The bad financial situation in turn affects adversely the expenditure priorities of the
municipality (Occasional Paper Series, op.cit.).
The financial position of the ULBs has been very well presented in the Twelfth Finance
Commission report. It has summed up the financial problems of the ULBs in the various
states as follows:
 Poor revenue realisation by municipalities – negligible tax and non-tax revenue.
 Excess dependence on state transfers, even for day to day expenses.
 Excess expenditure on establishment.
 Irregular disbursements of octroi compensation grant which also adversely affects
the day-to-day functioning of municipalities.
 Poor accounting practices leading to lack of clarity on financial situation.
184  Mounting arrears of payments like pension and provident funds (ibid).
If one has an overview of the working of the ULB’s, attention is automatically attracted Decentralisation
towards the non-functional character of the DPC. It was for the first time the DPCs and Local
Governance
under Article 243Z (d) have got Constitutional status by way of 74th Constitutional
Amendment Act. But unfortunately the DPCs have been made ineffective. Though most
states have taken the steps to constitute the District Planning Committees (DPCs),
there are variations in the composition and functioning of the DPCs. For example, the
MLAs and MPs are either the members or special invitees of DPC in all the states
except Kerala (Mishra, 2006, op.cit.).
In states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, they have been given voting
rights. In still some other states like West Bengal, MLAs and MPs can become the
members of the DPC and have voting rights by the special government order. Yet,
another variation is visible in Tamil Nadu where one-fifth of total block chairpersons in
the district are the members of DPC by rotation. In no other state, the Chairpersons of
Gram Panchayats and Block Panchayats are members of the DPC (ibid.). In Haryana
and Tamil Nadu, bureaucrats had been made chairs of these committees, and in Madhya
Pradesh, ministers had been put in charge of them – in violation of the amendment’s
spirit (Datta, 2003).
A study conducted by Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) on urban governance
highlights the fact that DPC in Himachal Pradesh is a weak link in the planning process
in the state. It is due to: (a) lack of an organic linkage between panchayat, panchayat
samiti, zila panchayats and ULBs regarding plan preparation and implementation, (b)
paucity of funds, and foremost the lack of strong political and administrative will to
make them work. In Chhattisgarh, the DPC is unfortunately not yet functional though it
has been constituted in all the districts. The state government, in contravention of its
own rules, constituted DPCs in 2005 in all districts by nominating all members instead
of holding elections. The DPC is chaired by state ministers, which is another major
problem. This ensures that the DPC works only as an arm of the state government with
no capacity for independent functioning (Occasional Paper Series, op.cit.).
The need of the hour is that the DPCs should be made effective and the district plan
prepared by the PRIs and Municipalities should be approved by the state government
without any change. It is also desirable that the DPC may issue guidelines to the lower
level units in regard to their annual action plan and consolidated five year plan. The
situation is much less encouraging as far as the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC)
is concerned.
Another problem area of ULB’s is the participation of SCs/STs, OBCs and women in
these bodies. The very presence of large numbers of poor people in local councils,
mainly on account of seat reservations, is a very significant development in the local
political landscape of most parts of India where they were previously excluded from
public life and political participation (Robinson, 2005).They are participating in protests
and rallies against low wages, faulty implementation of schemes, etc. Thus, things are
not as bleak as some of the problems we have discussed here depict. Many positives
have happened and the scenario is changing.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1) Enumerate the features of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.
..................................................................................................................... 185
Local .....................................................................................................................
Governance
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Analyse the lacunae in the functioning of PRIs.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Discuss the problems faced by urban local bodies.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

13.9 CONCLUSION
Decentralisation has firmly been established both in rural as well as urban areas. Local
democracy has deepened, political participation broadened and representation diversified
as a result of 73rdand 74thConstitutional Amendment Acts. Decentralisation has provided
an institutionalised arena where the local population could participate in local government
decision making. The decentralisation process has now given rural and urban local
bodies an opportunity to assume greater responsibility for rural and urban governance.
The new system of decentralised governance has provided an element of continuity and
enlarged the participatory process at the grassroots level. The states have taken certain
measures to transfer functions and devolve funds upon the local bodies.
Despite this, the local bodies at the grassroots level are faced with insurmountable task
of addressing the problem of governance. The experience brings to the fore the need of
addressing the challenges faced by the local bodies to meet the desired standards of
governance. And in this process State has a vital role to play, so that the right kind of
system of governance is established at the grassroots level. In operationalising the
panchayat and municipal acts, the State has a vital role to play in providing support for
building of local institutions, legal framework and in creating an enabling environment
for people to participate and take the advantage of opportunities. The need of the hour
is positive intervention by the State through policies for human resource development
and institutional development which are critical as these would strengthen the process
of decentralisation. Besides, in the era of globalisation, the central as well as the state
governments will have to provide critical support to local institutions in terms of
infrastructure and institution building, as globalisation has impacted the village life.
Transparency, accountability, effective planning and efficient delivery of goods and
186 services can go a long way in improving decentralisation pattern in India.
 Decentralisation
13.10 GLOSSARY and Local
Governance
Finance Commission : It is the Commission set up every five years by the President
of India under Article 280 of the Constitution. Its function is to recommend sharing of
taxes levied by the union government on the states. Till now fifteen Finance Commissions
have been set up to recommend devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters.
Kudumbashree : It is the community organisation of self-help groups of women. The
name Kudumbashree in Malayalam language means prosperity of the family. It is
community network that covers the entire State of Kerala. It consists of a three tier
structure with neighbourhood groups as primary level units, area development societies
at the ward level, and community development societies at the local government level.
These work on range of issues such as health, nutrition, agriculture besides income
generation activities.
Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan (PMEYSA) : It is the scheme that
attempts to empower the male and female elected representatives through several
measures.
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) : It is the programme to revitalise the
Panchayati Raj institutions through strengthening gram sabha, the capacities of panchayats
and promote devolution of powers and responsibilities to panchayats.
Self Help Group : It is a small voluntary association of people, generally from the
same socio-economic background. They come together for the purpose of solving
their common problems through self-help and mutual help. The self-help group promotes
small savings among its members and it is kept with a bank.

13.11 REFERENCES
Arora, R.K. & Goyal, R. (2012). Indian Public Administration: Institutions and
Issues. New Delhi: New Age International Publishers..
Aziz, A. (2007). The Decentralisation Experience in Karnataka: How Clientelism and
Accountability Work: A Case Study of West Bengal. In Satyajit Singh & Pradeep K.
Sharma (Eds.), Decentralization Institutions and Politics in Rural India. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press.
Chakrabarty, B. & Chand, P. (2012). Public Administration in a Globalizing World:
Theories and Practices New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Chaubey, P.K. (2004).Urban Local Bodies in India. New Delhi: Indian Institute of
Public Administration.
Datta, P. (2003). Panchayati Raj. Frontline, Chennai.
Gupta, D.N. (2004). Decentralization Need for Reforms. New Delhi: Concept
Publishing Company.
Islam, Md.N. (2007). Decentralised Governance in India: Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow. In M.R.Biju, Decentralisation an Indian Experience. Jaipur: National
Publishing House.
Jain, S.P. (2003). Decentralization in India: An Appraisal In S.N Mishra, et. al (Eds.),
Public Governance and Decentralization (Vol. II). New Delhi. Mittal.

187
Local Jayal, N.G. (2006). Engendering Local Democracy: The Impact of Quotas for women
Governance in India’s Panchayats. Democratization. 13(1).
Jayal, N.G. (2007). Introduction. In Jayal, et.al (Eds.), Local Governance in India
Decentralisation and Beyond. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kothari, R. (1988). State Against Democracy: in Search of Human Governance.
New Delhi: Ajanta.
Mathew, G. (2007). Decentralization and Local Governance: How Clientelism and
Accountability Work: A Case Study of West Bengal. In Satyajit Singh and Pradeep K.
Sharma (Eds.), Decentralization Institutions and Politics in Rural India. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press.
Mathur, K(2013). Panchayati Raj. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Mishra, S.N. (1989). New Horizons in Rural Development Administration. New
Delhi: Mittal Publications.
Mishra, S.N. (1981). Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. New Delhi: Mittal
Publications.
Mishra, S.N. (2005). The 73rd Constitution Amendment and the Local Resource Base:
A Critical Appraisal. In S.S. Chahar (Ed.), Governance at Grassroots Level in India.
New Delhi: Kanishka.
Mishra, S.N. & Mishra, S. (2002).Decentralized Governance. New Delhi: Shipra
Publications.
Mishra, S. (2006). Understanding Decentralization in Contemporary Settings. In
Decentralisation and Local Governance MPA-016. New Delhi: School of Social
Sciences.
Occasional Paper Series No.4. (2008).Democratic Decentralization of Urban
Governance.New Delhi: PRIA.
Palanithurai, G. (2009). Decentralisation in India Critical Issues from the Field.
New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Pattanaik. (2010). Women in Panchayat. Kurukshetra. 66(6).
Robinson, M. (2005). A Decade of Panchayati Raj Reforms: The Challenge of
Democratic Decentralization in India. In L.C. Jain (Ed.), Decentralization and Local
Governance. New Delhi: Orient Longman.
Rondinelli, D.A. &Cheema, S.G. (2013). Implementing Decentralization Policies: An
Introduction. In Dennis A. Rondinelli & G. Shabbir Cheema (Eds.), Decentralization
and Development Policy Implementation in Developing Countries. Sage
Publications.
Sharma, R. (2007). Kerala’s Decentralization The Ideal in Practice. In Satyajit Singh
and Pradeep K. Sharma (Eds.). Decentralization Institutions and Politics in Rural
India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Vittal, C.P. (1998). Devolution of Powers and Functions to Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Kurekshetra. 26(7).

188
 Decentralisation
13.12 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS and Local
EXERCISES Governance

Check Your Progress 1

1) Your answer should include the following points:
• Decentralisation is considered as a useful mode of administration to deliver
public services.
• Facilitates utilisation of regional and local resources for development purposes.
• Fosters local planning and development.
• Ensures sustained participation in local decision making.
• Institutionalises participation of citizens in development planning.
2) Your answer should include the following points:
• Political decentralisation that refers to transfer of political power and functions
from the central to lower levels of government.
• Administrative decentralisation which implies transfer of authority, resources
and responsibilities to lower levels of administrative hierarchy.
• Functional decentralisation which involves transfer of subject specific functions
to local tiers for their effective and efficient implementation.
• Financial decentralisation that involves devolving powers pertaining to taxation,
funds and expenditure to local bodies.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Your answer should include the following points:
• See Section 13.6
2) Your answer should include the following points.
• Large variations among the states in the operation of PRIs.
• Absence of detailed executive instructions regarding devolution of powers to
PRIs under the Eleventh Schedule.
• Despite reservation of seats for women, SCs and STs, lack of effective
measures to empower them.
• Restricted financial autonomy and lack of incentives to raise resources.
• Problem of coordination among the three levels of PRIs and between
bureaucracy and NGOs.
3) Your answer should include the following points:
• Absence of clear cut functional jurisdiction.
• Overlapping of functions between various departments.
• Delegation of functions through executive orders rather than transfer through
legislation.
• Ineffective revenue realisation.
• Poor accounting practices.

189
 UNIT 14 INCLUSIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE
GOVERNANCE*
Structure
14.0 Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Context of Citizen Participation in India
14.3 Inclusive Governance
14.3.1 Constitutional Framework for Inclusive Society
14.3.2 Institutional Framework for Inclusive Society

14.4 Participative Governance

14.4.1 Participative Structures in India
14.4.2 Participatory Tools

14.5 Inclusive and Participative Governance: Key Issues and Challenges

14.6 Conclusion
14.7 Glossary
14.8 References
14.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

14.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit, you should be able to:
• Appreciate the context of citizen participation in India;
• Explain the relevance of inclusive governance;
• Describe the significance of participative governance; and
• Identify the key issues and challenges of inclusive and participative governance.

14.1 INTRODUCTION
In the past few decades, there has been a rising concern in advancing ‘sustainability’
for development. Central to this concern is the increasing global agenda towards re-
examining the capacity of State and non-state actors to foster ‘development outcomes’
with people irrespective of caste, creed, race, religion, gender, disability, and income
levels. In 2011, the former President of India Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in his lecture
delivered at Harvard University, envisioned for a “clean environment without
pollution, prosperity without poverty, peace without fear of war and a happy
place to live for all citizens of the world. What is needed is the participation of
multiple nations, multiple institutions and people from across the globe towards
common objectives” (Economic Times, 2011). In a developing country context, there
has been a considerable shift in widening the scope for people’s participation through
governance structures that are transparent and accountable. Specifically, these shifts

* Contributed by Dr. R Anitha, Former Faculty, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth
190 Development, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu
intended to accelerate changes in the fundamental structure and functioning of State Inclusive and
from a ‘closed’, ‘centralised’, ‘rigid’, and ‘static’ system to an ‘open’, ‘decentralised’, Participative
Governance
‘flexible’, and ‘dynamic’ system.
With multiple centres of power and layers involved in decision making, different ways
have been explored to strengthen democracy in both developed and developing
countries. In this Unit, we shall discuss the functioning of democracy through inclusive
and participative governance and the key issues and challenges in implementing such
innovative practices.

14.2 CONTEXT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN

INDIA
Let us begin this section with the case of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. In December 1984, a
highly toxic leak of methyl isocyanate gas from the pesticide plant UCIL (Union Carbide
India Ltd) in Bhopal claimed the lives of over 5000 and injuries to 5 lakh individuals
(The Hindu, 2019). Such industrial disaster is a wake-up call for ongoing and upcoming
corporate projects to comply with the environment standards. A Report of Indian Institute
of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, on the Bhopal Gas tragedy indicates that within the
radius of 3.5 km from the factory and beyond, the soil and groundwater have been
contaminated with cancer and birth defect-causing chemicals (The Hindustan Times,
2015). Such worst industrial disasters, raises questions on several issues pertaining to
governance vis-à-vis social and environmental justice, safety of human lives, flora and
fauna, rehabilitation for victims, restoring normal life etc. Even after 35 years of the
tragedy, people of Bhopal continue to suffer because of the effects of harmful substances.
In this tragedy, people were completely unaware of the hidden disaster and we may
only speculate that a structured citizens’ involvement could have averted it. The need
for citizen participation has been seriously felt only in the wake of such injustice.
There have been several instances where efforts to foster environment friendly practices
were neglected by industries and this made the government to bring in ‘people’ as
development actors. In 1994, people’s involvement becames mandatory with the
promulgation of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. It states that
environmental clearance is possible only after public consultation in projects related to
mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours
and airports) and industries (Government of India, 2006). Although, EIA is a decision
making tool available for people to review the potential social and environment impact,
the success of EIA depends on the people’s ability to define the problems that are likely
to affect them. In essence, more joined-up dialogues and partnerships between State,
citizens, and non-state actors are likely to increase coordination and innovation. Above
all, it has the potential to prevent disasters.
Several state governments, with the aim to be accountable, transparent and responsive
towards delivery of public services, have embraced the rights-based approach for a
citizen friendly experience. Under this approach, states, such as, Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar, Maharashtra and several others enacted legislation for Right to Public Services
(RTPS). In fact, Madhya Pradesh became the first state to implement the law. This Act
clearly delineates front office and back office operations for catering to the needs of
citizens and to ensure time bound service delivery, citizen service centres have been
established. However, the challenge in implementing this legislation includes building
capacities of field level officers at two levels: (a) need for time bound citizen services
and (b) potential implications of delaying or denying of the services. We shall be discussing
this further in Unit 15 of this Course. 191
Local On the one hand, we have several initiatives and programmes meant for prompt citizen
Governance service delivery. On the other, citizen participation has been seen as an important
development dimension by the State. In fact, the nature of citizen participation has
evolved in India through ‘inclusive’ and ‘participative’ contexts; firstly, ‘inclusive’
context includes empowerment of marginalised sections, restoration of human dignity,
and sustainable livelihood etc.; secondly, ‘participative’ context includes citizens’ ability
to develop alternatives, time and cost effectiveness, and stakeholder responsiveness
etc.
The ensuing section discusses deeply about citizen engagement and participation through
meaningful networks vis-à-vis inclusive and participative governance.

14.3 INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE

To begin with, let us understand about inclusive governance in India with reference to
gender responsiveness. In 2013, the Ministry of Women and Child Development formally
guided the state governments to adopt gender-responsive budgeting in all departments
and local bodies. To expedite the process, the Ministry informed the states to establish
a Task Force on Gender Budgeting. The concept of gender responsive budgeting was
adopted to tackle gender inequality in policy making at all levels of government. Gender
budgeting includes Part A which deals with women-specific schemes (100% resource
allocation) and Part B which deals with pro-women schemes (30% resource allocation).
For instance, Budget 2019 proposed to increase the gender budget allocation to Rs
131,700 crore for the year 2019-20. In fact, the budget makes a comprehensive financial
outlay for women’s safety, employment, nutrition, social upliftment, education, health
and maternal benefit (Ashraf, 2019).
Ever since ‘inclusive governance’ has gained prominence in social science literature,
several approaches have been adapted according to the nature of the social science
discipline vis-à-vis Basic Needs, Alternative Models of Production, Sustainable
Livelihood, Rights-based etc. However, the present unit confines the discussion to State
interventions for inclusive governance at three broad levels:
• Constitutional Framework – It provides basic structure for inclusive societies;
• Institutional Framework – It promotes and enforces laws and policies; and
• Proactive Approach – To counter specific forms of exclusion.

14.3.1 Constitutional Framework for Inclusive Society

In the information age, scholars and practitioners have not surprisingly been keen to
ask the question, ‘how to engage citizens for a meaningful interaction between
state and society?’ Logically, democratic institutions were built with the objective to
educate citizen in shaping the production and consumption of available resources. In
order to facilitate fair and equitable distribution of resources for the marginalised groups,
Constitution made a commitment to ensure political, social, economic, and cultural
rights for all its citizens. It is the nature of these constitutional commitments which elevated
the position of people from a mute ‘subject’ to an ‘empowering citizen’ who could
shape the way resources are produced and consumed. To illustrate, the fundamental
rights from Article 14-16 of the Indian Constitution indicate that every person who lives
within the country are equal before law and no one will be discriminated to realise their
rights, based on religion, race, caste, gender, and place of birth (Basu, 2007). In case
of violation of the fundamental rights by the State or any public authority, the citizen is
empowered to approach the court for ‘judicial remedy’. Let us understand this
192 perspective through the following example.
Case Example: India’s First Transgender Police Inclusive and
Participative
In 2017, Prithika Yashini from Tamil Nadu became India’s first transgender Sub- Governance
Inspector of police. Despite possessing eligibility conditions for the post, the Tamil
Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) disqualified her candidature
based on gender. However, she filed her grievance in Madras High Court and
subsequently the Board had to notify transgender as the third category (Madhav, 2017).
Currently, Prithika along with 21 transgenders is part of the police cadre. Prithika’s
campaign for transgender employment in public services was lauded by the Court and
wider society. This incident can be cited as a classic example of the Fundamental Right-
Article 16 which indicates that no citizen shall be discriminated or considered ineligible
by the State based on religion, race, caste, gender, descent, and place of birth or any of
them.

14.3.2 Institutional Framework for Inclusive Society

Can inclusive society be achieved without socially responsible business? The answer to
the question needs to be examined under the lens of ‘Triple Bottom Line’(TBL) approach.
Dimensions of Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
According to Slaper and Hall (2011), TBL was developed by Elkington and opines
that it has changed the landscape of state and non-state actors to measure their
performance in sustainability context vis-à-vis environmental, social, and economic
dimensions. These dimensions will be discussed below:
Environmental Dimension
The environmental dimension includes the impact of industries on local natural resources.
Besides, it includes profiling the quality of air and water in terms of harmful substances,
quantity of water consumption, electricity and fuel energy, safe disposal of hazardous
waste and waste management, usage of land, public transport facility.
Social Dimension
The social dimension includes the rate of unemployment, participation of women labour
force, rate of crime ratio, health and well-being, access to education and government
schemes, community and recreation activities.
Economic Dimension
The economic dimension includes the flow of money and capital and its subsequent
impact on personal income, per capita, individual household income, and job creation.
According to Slaper and Hall (op. cit), the development dimensions of TBL include
3Ps: People, Planet, and Profit. Based on above mentioned dimensions, every company
is liable towards society and environment and based on these lines. Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) gained significance especially in the post globalisation era. These
dimensions are inclusive and as already mentioned it caters to the needs of 3Ps and
enables the concerned corporate to appropriately apply to their requirements depending
on the project and community.
The idea of CSR is intrinsically linked to the development discourse which enables
industries to contribute positively for uplifting the socially excluded. By adapting to the
TBL dimension to development, CSR seeks to integrate their core business strategy
towards social and environmental impacts. In a way, CSR intends to build sustainable
communities by exploring new ideas and new modes of livelihoods by partnering with
government and other stakeholders. 193
Local Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Governance
CSR in Indian context have been in vogue in the form of philanthropic endeavor since
pre-independent times. With widening inequalities vis-à-vis gender, income, health,
digital, and education, the need to bridge these inequalities was constantly pondered
over by national and international agencies. As a result, Government of India came up
with the National Voluntary Guidelines (NVGs) for Social, Environmental and Economic
Responsibilities of Business and the CSR section within the Companies Act, 2013.
CRISIL Foundation Report on CSR expenditure, points out that during the period
2015-2018, the Indian companies had spent over Rs 50,000 crore (The Economic
Times, 2019). The report highlights that the highest social expenditure during the financial
year 2018 was in education and skill development sector, followed by health and
sanitation, and rural development projects. From this data, it can be understood that
CSR could be a viable instrument for the development of disadvantaged, vulnerable,
and marginalised communities. In the long run, it is estimated to renew sustainability in
collaboration with state and other non-state actors. Let us discuss further through the
following example.
Case Example
In compliance to the Companies Act, 2013 and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE)
Guidelines, 2014, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has evolved its
own policy on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable development. Let us
look into one of its successful project in Kashmir. On February 21st, 2019, ONGC
was honored with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
CSR award for its community project in Baramulla and Uri (Jammu and Kashmir). In
collaboration with the Indian Army and NGO, Research and Extension Association for
Conservation Horticulture and Agro-forestry (REACHA), ONGC undertook CSR
projects in skill development, education, and rehabilitation work. Notably, the public
sector company has been positively impacting the lives of the youth in Kashmir since
2016 (ONGC, 2019). The skill development courses have been certified by Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC). ONGC reported that around 150 girls have been
trained in Fashion Designing, Stitching and Tailoring and hundreds of youth have been
trained in Hospitality and Retail Sales. Further, about 60-70% youth have been trained
for a sustainable livelihood by setting up their own entrepreneurship ventures (REACHA,
2019).
Proactive Approach to Counter Exclusion
Despite efforts to foster political, social and economic inclusion, there have been instances
of exclusion especially in the context of differently abled population, transgender,
marginalised, and vulnerable. In order to bridge these inequalities, governments look
for development alternatives so as to create equal opportunities for all. One of the
development alternatives that we are going to discuss here is the social enterprise
framework. Development advocates believe that in order to achieve the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the social enterprise framework could be
considered as an alternative as it enables economies to reinvest surpluses back into
social and environmental purposes.
Social Enterprise Framework
A social enterprise is the collective commitment of a community of people who seek to
build sustainable local economy. It intends to reduce inequalities and social stigma
194 attached with exclusion. British Council’s Report on ‘Social Enterprise: An Overview
of Policy Framework in India’ (2015), points out that the ecosystem for social enterprises Inclusive and
in India have been active since 2005. Significantly, there have been social investments Participative
Governance
to create potential value by pooling resources through grants and capital investments.
The government schemes, such as, Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for
Scheduled Castes and Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes provided financial
access to the economically backward sections. In 2014, with the objective to make
entrepreneurial response to social issues, India Inclusive Innovation Fund was started
(British Council, 2015). Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made access to easier credit
for small and medium enterprises, marginal farmers etc. As a result, the ecosystem is
favourable for multiple actors, such as, incubators, academicians, national and
international donors, workshops, training etc., to create ‘social value’. In this section,
let us understand how does social enterprise framework impacts the lives of the vulnerable
with special reference to differently abled.
Having understood the significance of inclusive governance in Indian context, let us
discuss from the perspective of participative governance in the ensuing section.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1) What do you understand by the term ‘Triple Bottom Line’?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Describe the context of Corporate Social Responsibility in India.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Explain briefly the role of social enterprises in tackling exclusion.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

14.4 PARTICIPATIVE GOVERNANCE

With the Constitutional commitment to provide equality and equity to all, India has time
and again taken steps to ensure citizen participation in governance, such as, Public 195
Local Interest Litigation (PIL), Citizen’s Charter, Right to Information (RTI), social audit
Governance mechanism etc. These governance mechanisms have already been discussed in Unit 3-
Governance Framework in India. In this section, let us discuss the participatory institutions
and citizen tools for participation.

14.4.1 Participatory Structures in India

Participatory institutions have been formed with the intention to move forward the political,
social, and economic development agenda of the Constitution. To illustrate, Oommen
(The Hindu Business Line, 2015) cites a successful practice in grassroots democracy.
During the eleventh Five Year Plan, under the initiative of District Planning Committee
(DPC) of Kollam district, Kerala, the Integrated District Development Plan was evolved
successfully with the participation of multiple stakeholders. One of the notable
achievements of this plan was it could integrate the rural-urban plan within a period of
four years. In the ensuing sub-section, let us understand about the participative context
of governance at local level.
Rural Governance
Rural development has always been at the centre stage of development since
independence. However, in the wake of globalisation era, the challenges were multitude
especially in terms of protecting the rights of villagers. With the view to devolving 3Fs –
funds, functions, and functionaries, the central government enacted the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment Act (CAA) in 1992. The framework provides adequate representation of
marginalised communities and women, instituting State Finance Commission for smooth
flow of funds, establishment of Village Development Plan and District Planning Committee
etc. It provides a fillip to represent community as a whole as it has provisions for
reservation of women and marginalised in contesting elections.
Gram Panchayat
Gram Sabha is seen as an empowerment platform for discussing and passing resolutions
to encounter social problems like lack of community health, education etc. In this regard,
women’s participation has been crucial towards community health development. Firstly,
on the occasion of International Women’s Day in 2017, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj
(MoPR) honored around 6000 women panchayat leaders in achieving the Open
Defecation Free (ODF) Village (Government of India, April-June 2017). This is one of
the sustainable endeavours of rural governance with special reference to women’s political
empowerment.
Secondly, to create responsive local governance, the Fourteenth Finance Commission
has allocated Rs. 2,00, 292 crores for panchayats. In order to utilise the funds, the
MoPR has issued guidelines and manuals to evolve Gram Panchayat Development
Plan (GPDP). By including local priorities and needs in a fair and transparent manner,
the funds could be integrated with sustainable initiatives.
Thirdly, to encourage village panchayats for optimal utilisation of child development
funds, the Ministry has instituted an award for Child Friendly Gram Panchayat in March
2019. Keeping in view of inclusive child development, the award intends to incentivise
the villages that are proactive towards immunisation, nutrition, sanitation, school
enrollment and dropout rate, playground, drinking water facilities, mid-day meal scheme,
girl child hygiene etc. (MoPR, 2019).
In the subsequent paragraph, let us understand participative governance in urban context.

196
Urban Governance Inclusive and
Participative
With the intention to addressing the challenges of urbanisation, the central government Governance
enacted the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) in 1992. It configured a structural
framework for electing governments at the local level and for their effective functioning.
The Act mandates compulsory reconstitution of municipal bodies within a stipulated
time frame and explicitly acknowledges a central role for the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
within the Constitutional framework and provides for devolution of funds, functions,
and functionaries to them. The constitution of Ward Committees in municipalities,
Metropolitan Planning Committees, and District Planning Committees for preparation
and consolidation of plans of spatial, economic, and social development marks a
paradigm shift from a traditional top down approach to bottom up approach. In essence,
the Act envisages identifying potential stakeholders at the local level for collaborative
partnerships.
In the recent years, there have been several initiatives by non-state actors in addressing
critical issues confronting cities, such as, financing municipal infrastructure, benchmarking
civic services, instituting citizen friendly initiatives etc. Let us further our understanding
through the following example.
Case Example: Innovation in Metropolitan Governance: Citizens’ Budget
The participatory budgeting campaign in Bangalore is a partnership between the citizens
and Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation (GBMC). The initiative was launched in
December 2016 by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bangalore based think tank
which believes in collaborative partnership between the citizens, ward councilors, civic
officials, and other stakeholders. With the aim to collecting scientific data at the ward
level and to promote the concept of neighbourhood level budgets, the initiative intends
to build sustainable communities. For instance, at the neighbourhood level, open and
structured dialogues take place between the ward councilor, civic officials, and community
on budgets and civic projects. The participatory budgeting had been given due publicity
through a mobile web application and an online campaign titled “I Change My City”.
Besides, citizenship festival was conducted to collect the inputs from school, college,
and community groups. The GBMC ascertained to implement 12, 468 citizen inputs in
the 2017-18 budget. By prioritising citizens’ inputs in the budget, the Mayor and
Municipal Commissioner of the city, stay committed to the principle of ‘citizens as
development actors’ in letter and spirit (Janaagraha, 2018-19).

14.4.2 Participatory Tools

With the objective to empowering communities, various participatory tools have been
used by the concerned stakeholders. For instance, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
is a powerful tool to map village level resources, such as, water bodies, sanitation,
schools, primary health centres etc., which facilitates planning and evaluation of rural
projects. Indeed, it has also been called as Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)
because of its ability to develop a deeper understanding of social realities.
Social Mapping
Social mapping is one of the most popular methods in PRA that focuses on mapping
habitation patterns, individual households, social infrastructure like roads, drainage
systems, presence of libraries, playgrounds, drinking water facilities, etc. According to
National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, one of the defining features
of social map is, it is designed by local people and not by experts. The idea is to enable
policies and plan as relevant to local people so as to build ownership among the 197
Local community for any government schemes. Interestingly, social map serves as a monitoring
Governance and evaluation tool for conceiving projects in terms of physical and social context of the
villages.
Participatory tools are flexible and innovative and they have been applied in disaster
prone areas to mitigate disasters, preparing evacuation maps at the time of disaster,
mapping unsafe places for women and girls etc.
The Case of Community Score Card (CSC)
In 2005, the Government of India launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
with the mission to reduce Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio
(MMR). One of the social accountable strategies of NRHM is to mobilise the rural
communities in developing village health plans by working closely with the Village Health
and Sanitation Committee (VHNSC) and other stakeholders. Similarly, World Vision
(WV), an NGO functioning in India to mobilise community knowledge on quality
healthcare through its Project - Maternal and Neonatal Health through Birth Spacing
and Advocacy (MOMENT) aims to develop Social and Behaviour Change
Communication among rural women. Let us discuss the joint efforts of NRHM and
MOMENT in one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh (UP).
One of the World Vision’s (WV) social accountability approaches is the Citizen Voice
and Action (CVA) which aims to improve citizens’ interface with the concerned
stakeholders by making them answerable to the services delivered. It is to be understood
that the nature of ‘Community Score Card’ (CSC) is not just dissemination of scorecard,
rather, the objective is to foster community dialogue with the service providers so as to
create sustainable framework for delivering results. ‘Community Score Card’ is a social
accountability tool which is used to assess the quality of health services in terms of
‘improvement in availability and quality of essential drugs, increase in facility-
based delivery, reduced clinic and hospital waiting times, increased immunization
coverage, new incentive systems for doctors to visit remote areas, better sanitation,
new infrastructure, such as, maternity wards, improved relations between staff
and patients’.
To gain community support, WV members conducted discussions with the panchayat
heads, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse-Mid Wives (ANMs),
Community Development Officer (CDO), family members of daughter-in-laws, such
as, mothers-in-law, husbands, and other relevant stakeholders. Primarily, gram panchayats
were educated about their access to Government Untied Funds which are allocated by
the Government to improve social and health services (Otchere, 2017). Initially, people
of Hardoi village assessed the accessibility and quality of health services. Based on the
performance measures of the services delivered, nearly 40 VHSNCs were revived and
since then coordination improved among the panchayat heads, ANMs, CDO, and the
community. To illustrate, nine out of seventeen village heads received the government
untied funds of Rs. 35,000 to revive the ANM sub-centres and eventually women
utilised this centre for immunisations and ante-natal care. Based on the concerted efforts
of the community, local and state bureaucracy, NGOs, and other stakeholders, the
accountability mechanisms in health sector has been strengthened in the districts.
Citizen Led Environmental Impact Assessment Toolkit (CLEIA)
It is an innovative toolkit that encourages community-based dialogue with the
stakeholders at key stages of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). According to
Public Affairs Centre (PAC), CLEIA enables citizens’ to have structured data about
198 the grievance with which they could take collective action with the project proponents
or clearance authorities (Lakshmisha, 2016). To illustrate, PAC had conducted an Inclusive and
impact assessment study of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Participative
Governance
collaboration with the National Rural Road Development Agency and the World Bank
as part of the project on ‘Citizen Monitoring of PMGSY Roads’ across Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand. Primarily, this exercise was done to
assess the benefits of road construction and its effect on vegetation, land, water, livelihood,
drinking water, other resources, and ecology of the villages. The volunteers of the study
were trained by PAC team on the toolkit.
Based on the socio-economic front, the citizen survey concluded that the construction
led to improved road connectivity, access to markets, schools, hospitals, and job creation.
However, the project did impact the local environment and ecology, especially, in terms
of felling of trees, agriculture, livelihoods, contamination of drinking water sources and
water bodies. Further, it was documented that in all the states the construction caused
soil erosion and reportedly affected the agricultural practices. It was thus inferred through
the study that although the project proponents have had significant effect on planting of
trees, the need to mitigate the negative environment impacts on the local ecology was
underscored.
Social Media and Disaster Response
Recently, the significance of social media has become highly relevant especially during
disasters. Social media technologies include Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Youtube,
and such allied technology applications that are capable of connecting the users with
the global community even when there is a collapse of communication network. In this
sub-section, let us discuss the social media usage and its impact on disaster response.
Case Example: The Kashmir Floods (2014)
During the Kashmir floods of 2014, people were stranded in remote areas due to huge
destruction of roads, collapse of power supply and communication networks. The rescue
teams were looking for alternative action. However, the Indian army and the National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were able to undertake swift rescue operations
through social media updates of citizens through Facebook page, Twitter, and WhatsApp
group. The social media posts were verified by a team of officials for its authenticity.
Later, the Army had reported that it was able to rescue around 12,000 people (Najar,
2014) from the flood affected areas. Through this example, we could understand the
way citizens innovatively partnered with government using social media technologies.
In fact, it not only saved time and cost of the government but also the life of affected
people.
In the ensuing section, let us discuss briefly the key issues and challenges of inclusive
and participative governance.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1) Describe the role of participative institutions in urban context.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
199
Local .....................................................................................................................
Governance
.....................................................................................................................
2) What is the purpose of social mapping?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Explain the significance of Community Score Card.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

14.5 INCLUSIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE

GOVERNANCE: KEY ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES
With the state and non-state actors around the world reinforcing on the agenda ‘inclusive
and participative governance for development’, contemporary governments have thus,
renewed their commitment towards sustainability. Nevertheless, the challenges are many
in terms of caste, class, gender, capacity building of elected representatives and other
stakeholders. Despite Constitutional amendments in governance, the local governments
are not yet able to meet the resource needs owing to the challenges as mentioned
above. The ‘inclusive and participative context’ is more relevant in local scenario as it
has the capacity to directly engage the citizens. Let us understand the issues and challenges
given below:
Gender Imbalance
With 50% reservation in local bodies, yet, women are not able to realise their political
empowerment. The constitutional arrangement enables all women irrespective of caste,
class, education, and income to participate, however, the patriarchal attitude, lack of
political and administrative understanding restrict them from performing development
functions.
Lack of Citizen Awareness
There have been a whole lot of participative and inclusive structures in the country for
women and marginalised sections, however, lack of awareness on government schemes
inhibits their economic and social participation. To illustrate, majority of untied funds
meant for village development go under utilised at the end of the financial year. Another
aspect is in relation to access to loans and subsidies, the government has initiated various
schemes and programmes exclusively for small, and medium enterprises including the
200
establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Inclusive and
nevertheless, people are still unaware about their financial prospects. In 2016, with the Participative
Governance
objective to create financial awareness in a village in Tamil Nadu, NABARD conducted
Financial Literacy Awareness (FLA) programme for the self-help groups and marginal
farmers. This was primarily organised to enable the poor and vulnerable sections to
make use of social security schemes of the government (The Hindu, 2016).
Lack of Adequate Capacity Building Training
People at the local level are still inadequate in terms of capacity building. For example,
to develop an integrated plan for the district, a joined up dialogue and involvement are
yet to scale up in several districts of India. Training programmes on micro planning,
disaster resilience, gender sensitisation and budgeting, girl child safety, mental health
status etc. are yet to get reflected in the plan process.
Other Issues and Challenges
Some of the other challenges are:
• Geo-spatial mapping of resources at village level;
• Scientific collection of citizen feedback on public services at a large scale;
• Involvement of multiple stakeholders with the community;
• Documentation of governance innovations by local people; and
• Security and privacy of sharing of ward level data.
Besides, the above mentioned issues and concerns, there may be context specific
challenges in the concerned department or district or village. These could be holistically
addressed only with the unfolding of grassroots democracy. According to Goldbard
(2010), “Citizens can be reached and engaged if they are offered ways to take
part that are interesting and satisfying in themselves, that combine learning and
doing, that engage not only their participation, but their creativity”. As pointed
out, creative ways of involving citizens is the need of the hour.

14.6 CONCLUSION
In the process of advancing people’s participation, there has been a rising global concern
to re-examine the capacity of state and non-state actors. With ‘sustainability’ being the
mission of state and non-state actors, adequate development indicators were instituted
to examine the social well-being and environment protection. Unlike the neo-liberal
doctrine that focuses on expansion of capital markets over social investments, the CSR
initiatives of companies have been working towards building sustainable communities
by integrating their business strategies and social value. To develop alternatives in financial
inclusion, social enterprise sector seem to be a viable option. Several participatory
tools have been evolved to provide citizen feedback on public service delivery with the
aim to improving the standards and to benchmark best practices. However, the success
is determined by the quality of citizen participation and their attitude towards nation
building. From the case examples discussed in this Unit, it can be understood that
democracy can become feeble and futile without the presence of formal and informal
linkages for citizen participation.

201
Local
Governance 14.7 GLOSSARY
Development Outcomes: Development outcomes indicate the impact of public policies
in reducing poverty and inequality in all forms. In developing country context, it is the
capability of the excluded groups to access, participate, and thrive in education,
employment, and business endeavours.
Infant Mortality Rate: It is the number of deaths per 1000 live births of children
under one year of age.
Maternal Mortality Rate: It is the number of registered maternal deaths due to birth
or pregnancy related complications per 1,00,000 registered live births.
Neo-liberal: It refers to freedom of market and minimum interference from the
government.
Social Value: It refers to a company’s mission towards positively contributing to the
lives of poor and marginalised.

14.8 REFERENCES
Ashraf, S. (Financial Express, January, 2019). Budget 2019 for women: Here’s the
budget allocation for women in the last budget. Retrieved from: https://
www.financialexpress.com/budget/budget-2019-for-women-heres-the-budget-
allocation-for-women-in-the-last-budget/1448716/
Basu, D.D. (2019). Introduction to the Constitution of India (24thed.). Nagpur:
Wadhwa Publishers.
British Council (December, 2016). Social value economy: A Survey of the Social
Enterprise Landscape in India. Retrieved from: https://www.britishcouncil.in/sites/
default/files/british_council_se_landscape_in_india_-_report.pdf
British Council (October, 2015). Social Enterprise: An Overview of the Policy
Framework in India. Retrieved from: https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/
social_enterprise_policy_landscape_in_india_british_council.pdf
Choudhary, D. (March, 2017). How Intellectually Disabled individuals are turning
waste flowers into powdered colours and are selling them in Walmarts across the
country. Retrieved from: https://www.theoptimistcitizen.com/waste-flowers-powdered-
colours/
Economic Times (2011, November 01). A P J Abdul Kalam’s vision for a better,
richer world in 2030. Retrieved from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/view-point/
a-p-j-abdul-kalams-vision-for-a-better-richer-world-in-2030/articleshow/
10548491.cms?from=mdr
Goldbard, A. (2010). The Art of Engagement: Creativity in the Service of Citizenship.
In Connected Communities, ed. James Svara and Janet V. Denhardt, Phoenix: Alliance
for Innovation.
Government of India. (March, 2019). New Award for Child Friendly Gram Panchayat
Retrieved from https://www.panchayat.gov.in/documents/10198/1836504/
CF_%20GP%20Ltrs.pdf
Government of India. (February, 2019). Gram Panchayat Development Plan.
Retrieved from: https://www.panchayat.gov.in/documents/10198/355951/
PS120219.pdf
202
Government of India. (April-June 2017). Gramoday Sankalp. Vol. 1(1) Retrieved Inclusive and
from: https://www.panchayat.gov.in/documents/10198/1836109/English% Participative
Governance
20News%20Letter.pdf
Government of India. (2006). Environment Impact Assessment Notification.
Retrieved from: https://parivesh.nic.in/writereaddata/ENV/EnvironmentalImpact
AssessmentNotification-2006/so1533.pdf
Janaagraha. (2018-19). Citizens’ Budget. Retrieved from: http://www.janaagraha.org/
files/publications/CBI-Report-2018-English-Online.pdf
Lakshmisha, A. (et.al). (2016). Strengthening Citizen Involvement in Environment
Impact Assessment. Retrieved from: http://pacindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/
strengthening_citizen_involvement_in_EIA.pdf
Madhav, P. (2017, April 04). Prithika Yashini, India’s first transgender police officer,
wins acceptance. Retrieved from: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/prithika-yashini-
india-first-transgender-police-officer-tamil-nadu-969389-2017-04-04
Najar, N. and Barry, E. (2014, September 12th) Embrace of Social Media Aids Flood
Victims in Kashmir. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/asia/
embrace-of-social-media-aids-flood-victims-in-kashmir.html
National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR). Participatory
Rural Appraisal. Retrieved from: http://www.nird.org.in/nird_docs/gpdp/pra.pdf
Oommen, M.A. (The Hindu BusinessLine, 2015). Decentralisation has fallen off the
agenda. Retrieved from: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/decentralisation-
has-fallen-off-the-agenda/article9272167.ece
ONGC. (2019). ONGC CSR work in Jammu and Kashmir recognised by FICCI.
Retrieved from: https://www.ongcindia.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/media/press-release/
ongc-csr-work-jammu-kashmir
Otchere, S. (et.al). (2017). Social accountability and education revives health sub-
centres in India and increases access to family planning services.Retrieved from:
https://journal.cjgh.org/index.php/cjgh/article/view/177/411
REACHA. (2019). ONGC CSR Projects. Retrieved from: at http://www.reacha.org/
ongc-csr-project
Slaper, F. T. and Hall, J. T. (2011). The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How
Does It Work? Retrieved from: http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2011/spring/pdfs/
article2.pdf
The Economic Times (2019, March 1st). India Inc spent over Rs 50K cr on Corporate
Social Responsibility in FY15-18: Crisil. Retrieved from: https://
economictimes.indiatimes.com/corporate-news/india-inc-spent-over-rs-50k-cr-on-
corporate-social-responsibility-in-fy15-18-crisil/articleshow/68211299.cms
The Hindu, (January, 28th, 2019). Bhopal Gas Tragedy: SC to hear in April Centre’s
plea for enhanced compensation. Retrieved from:https://www.thehindu.com/news/
national/bhopal-gas-tragedy-sc-to-hear-centres-plea-for-enhanced-compensation-in-
april/article26110312.ece

203
Local The Hindu. (July, 2016). NABARD conducts financial literacy programme in village.
Governance Retrieved from: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/NABARD-
conducts-financial-literacy-programme-in-village/article14487265.ece
The Hindustan Times. (2015, February 24th). Bhopal Gas tragedy: Possibility of
UN assessment of contamination spread. Retrieved from: https://www.hindustantimes.
com/bhopal/bhopal-gas-tragedy-possibility-of-un-assessment-of-contamination-spread/
story-cx3mg3b5d0GwSgh9pSP5KJ.html

14.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1) Your answer should include the following points:
i) Triple Bottom Line (TBL) was developed by Elkington.
ii) It has three dimensions, namely, environment, social, and economic.
iii) It has changed the landscape of the way businesses are run.
2) Your answer should include the following points:
i) CSR operates based on TBL approach.
ii) It intends to build sustainable communities.
iii) It partners with the state and other non-state actors.
3) Your answer should include the following points:
i) Exclusion refers to keeping away the differently-abled, vulnerable and
marginalised communities from mainstream development.
ii) It could be linked with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
iii) It aims to bridge social inequalities.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Your answer should include the following points:
i) It provides structural framework for constituting municipal bodies.
ii) It delineates the powers to urban local bodies in terms of 3Fs (funds, functions,
and functionaries).
iii) It envisages identifying potential stakeholders for collaborative partnerships.
2) Your answer should include the following points:
i) It is one of the popular methods in PRA to map social resources.
ii) It is unique as it is designed by people.
iii) It is flexible and innovative.
3) Your answer should include the following points:
i) It is used to assess the quality of public services.
ii) It is used as a decision making tool.
iii) It fosters community dialogue in fixing responsibilities.

204